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Today, the mayors of the four largest cities in Texas — Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio — released a letter addressed to Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) urging him to stop the proposed legislation that prohibits local governmental entities from partnering with Planned Parenthood. By limiting a local government’s ability to address the unique health care needs of their communities, this bill is an attack on local control.

In the early morning hours on July 26, the Senate approved SB 4 by Sen. Charles Schwertner, which specifically targets Planned Parenthood patients and goes farther than previous “defunding” efforts to extend to the local level what the Texas Legislature has implemented on the state level. If it succeeds, Planned Parenthood would be barred from activities such as participating in city and county health fairs for free HIV and STD testing or partnering to distribute mosquito spray to prevent the spread of Zika. On July 27, the House State Affairs Committee approved the House companion bill HB 14 by Rep. Drew Springer, which will head to the House floor for debate unless Speaker Straus prevents it from moving forward.

Planned Parenthood is one of Texas’ most trusted providers of reproductive health and family planning services, including breast and cervical cancer screenings. When lawmakers politicize reproductive health care, Texans lose access.

On Tuesday afternoon, after signing into law the extreme, multi-part anti-abortion law SB 8, Governor Greg Abbott called a special legislative session that will last for 30 days starting July 18. In an unprecedented move, Abbott announced a 20-item agenda including further cruel and unnecessary abortion restrictions. Among his priorities are a bill that explicitly puts women’s health and wellbeing at risk by not allowing a person to insure themselves for all emergency situations, and another that would prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving any government funds or indeed anything of potential value from the government.

“Gov. Abbott has made it clear he’ll stop at nothing to ban safe, legal abortion and end access to preventive health care at Planned Parenthood health centers. Today, Gov. Abbott signed the multi-part SB 8 law that further restricts Texans’ right to make the best decisions for their health and their life. However, that was not enough for Abbott — he had to further prove his extreme ideology by reviving every anti-abortion regulation that failed to pass during the regular legislative session and add them to the call for an unnecessary special session.

This is not what Texans want, which is why thousands of women and men across the state have spoken out against legislation that hurts reproductive health and rights time and time again. The attacks on women are as cruel and unnecessary as they are relentless. We have come to expect the worst out of these extreme elected officials, but we are more committed than ever to fighting for Planned Parenthood patients and for all Texans.”

Monday was the last day of the 85th Texas Legislative Session and once again extreme legislators demonstrated a total disregard for the health and wellbeing of Texas women. In total, lawmakers filed nearly 40 anti-abortion regulations — several of which passed under the now multi-part Senate Bill (SB) 8. The 2018-2019 budget continues to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood through state health programs and goes even further to cut Planned Parenthood off from all state funding — period.

While extremists were able to claim several victories off the backs of women who will now face further obstacles to getting reproductive health care, our women’s health champions in the legislature were able to defeat a number of cruel and unnecessary bills.

BILLS PASSED

SB 8 is the most significant and restrictive anti-abortion regulation since 2013, when the Texas Legislature passed HB 2 — the law struck down by the Supreme Court just last summer. The bill, by Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown), started as a ban on the donation of fetal tissue for medical research and on an abortion method already illegal at the federal level. After six-hours of debate on the House floor during which extreme legislators piled on further restrictions, SB 8 grew into a dangerous and cruel multi-part bill. The bill now also requires fetal tissue from an abortion procedure to be buried or cremated, even if the patient’s health was at risk or she was a victim of rape or incest and bans the safest, most common method for second trimester abortion. While the vast majority of abortion procedures take place in the first trimester, some health risks to pregnant women may not become apparent early in pregnancy and identification of fetal anomalies most often occur during the second trimester. Banning the safest method for these abortions forces doctors to resort to alternatives that may not be what they, based on their professional judgment, think is best for their patient. SB 8 imposes an excessive burden on patients seeking access to safe, legal abortion and similar provisions have already been challenged in court. In anticipation of a ruling against the constitutionality of SB 8, lawmakers included a “severability” clause that will keep the rest of the bill intact if any one piece is struck down by the courts.

HB 2858 by Rep. DeWayne Burns (R-Cleburne), requiring abortion facilities to post human trafficking signage, passed as an amendment to HB 2552. Planned Parenthood supports requiring all health care facilities in Texas to be trained to identify human trafficking and intimate partner violence. However, this amendment singles out abortion providers and further stigmatizes abortion. Human trafficking experts say that victims are likely to be intercepted in emergency rooms, doctors offices, and even dentist offices and a genuine effort to help victims would include a variety of health care providers. Meanwhile, lawmakers opted to cut funding from sex trafficking victims’ services out of the state budget.

SB 1, or the state budget for 2018-2019, continues to block low-income women from accessing care at Planned Parenthood through the Healthy Texas Women and Breast and Cervical Cancer Services programs because some health centers also provide abortion services. Rep. Drew Springer (R-Muenster) and Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) went even further by adding a budget rider that prevents Planned Parenthood from receiving any state funds whatsoever, threatening health centers’ ability to provide critical health care and education to communities in need. At the same time, the budget allocates up to $38,300,000 for the Alternatives to Abortion program, which funnels money to crisis pregnancy centers known to mislead and deceive women in an attempt to coerce women against having an abortion. Crisis pregnancy centers generally provide no health care services at all.

BILLS DEFEATED

SB 20 by Sen. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) would have banned insurance companies from providing abortion coverage in private health plans and those available through the Affordable Care Act. This bill made no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal abnormality, and explicitly put women’s health and wellbeing at risk by not allowing a person to insure themselves for all emergency situations.

SB 25 by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R – Conroe) would have allowed doctors to withhold vital information from a patient about her own pregnancy by taking away the patient’s legal recourse. This bill was nothing more than yet another attempt by anti-abortion activists to chip away at the already narrow exception for fetal abnormalities.

HB 2962 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) would have required additional extensive reporting related to abortion complications despite the fact that abortion is one of the safest medical procedures performed in the United States and that Texas already has robust reporting systems in place. An alarmingly invasive amendment proposed to the bill during floor debate would have required women who experience an abortion complication to disclose their marital status, last menstrual period, and other personal information to be recorded in a state database.

A number of proactive women’s health bills also died before the deadline this session. HB 745 by Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) would have eliminated the mandatory 24-hour waiting period before a patient can have an abortion. HB 1373 by Rep. Sarah Davis (R-Houston) would have allowed minors who are already parents to access birth control without parental consent.

Years of hostile policies have already left tens of thousands of Texas women without access to cancer screenings, birth control, and safe, legal abortion. Together, we keep fighting for a legislature that will work for health care access for all Texans.

For more than 100 years, May 1st has been about fighting for the rights of workers and immigrants. This May Day, Planned Parenthood is proud to stand in solidarity with our allies to protect the lives, health, and safety of all people in Texas. Planned Parenthood activists and supporters joined in a sit-in outside of Governor Greg Abbott’s Austin office today to demand that he veto the hateful ‘show me your papers” bill, SB 4. We know what happens when communities who already face barriers to accessing care are driven further into the shadows – they will forsake the care they need to preserve their own safety and economic security for their families. Together, we keep fighting so that all Texans can live free from discrimination.

On Wednesday, House State Affairs will hear HB 1113 by Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo). This is the companion bill to SB 20 by Sen. Larry Taylor (R- League City), which seeks to ban insurance companies from providing abortion coverage in private health plans and those available through the Affordable Care Act. This bill makes no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal abnormality, and explicitly puts women’s health and wellbeing at risk by not allowing a person to insure themselves for all emergency situations. Restricting insurance coverage for abortion jeopardizes the health and safety of Texans and disproportionately impacts low-income Texans, obstructing their access to health care.

There is a little over one month left of the legislative session, which means our state lawmakers will spend more time on the House and Senate floors to pass more legislation in the coming weeks than in the preceding five months combined. Our top priorities continue to be to prevent state efforts to bar Planned Parenthood health centers from providing health care services to Texans, and to stop dangerous anti-abortion bills from advancing to the floor. We are working with our allies in both chambers to defend reproductive health and rights. Please read below for details on legislative activity this week and how to take action.

Fight back against a state budget that threatens the health of Texas women and families

The Texas House and Senate have both proposed versions of the 2018-2019 state budget that include new provisions that further attack access to care at Planned Parenthood health centers. Both the House and Senate versions of the budget would continue to prevent Planned Parenthood from participating in the state’s Healthy Texas Women and Breast and Cervical Cancer Services programs. One far-reaching budget-wide amendment by Representatives Drew Springer (R-Gainesville) and Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) goes even further by banning any and all state funding to Planned Parenthood.

Now, a Conference Committee of ten appointed legislators will work to reconcile a single version of the state budget before it can receive final approval from the full legislature. The conference committee process is one of the very last opportunities to remove these new provisions that further prevent Planned Parenthood from participating in state programs. Politicians in Texas have targeted access to health care for Planned Parenthood’s patients again and again and it’s women and families that continue to suffer the devastating consequences.

Five anti-abortion bills have been passed by House State Affairs Committee and now it’s up to the Texas House Calendars Committee whether or not they advance to the full House of Representatives for a vote. Send committee members a message now, asking them to stop these attacks on Texans’ reproductive rights today.

On Wednesday, the Texas House will debate its version of the anti-immigrant sanctuary cities ban bill by Rep. Charlie Geren (R-River Oaks [outside Ft. Worth]). The House version, like SB 4 in the Senate, would ban cities from adopting sanctuary policies that prevent law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status or enforcing immigration law. Unlike the Senate version, the House bill does not include a provision that would cut state funding to entities that do not enforce national immigration law, and stipulates that an officer cannot ask about immigration status until after a suspect is arrested.

Rep. Victoria Neave (D-Dallas) is taking a stand against this discriminatory bill by leading a fast that began Sunday and will last until Wednesday — the day the House plans to debate the legislation. Click here to learn how to join Rep. Neave in fasting in opposition to legislation that will destroy families and communities.

Yesterday, the House State Affairs Committee voted to approve four additional bills that are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to ban abortion. House bills 35, 200, 2962, and 1936 unnecessarily target an extremely safe, legal medical procedure and hurt women and their families.

Statement from Yvonne Gutierrez, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes:“These bills are just the latest in a relentless wave of legislation aimed at chipping away at the right to safe, legal abortion. They do nothing to improve the health and safety of women, and the politicians behind them have only one objective: To push their extreme agenda onto Texans who don’t want or support these dangerous policies. Politicians have no right to control the lives of women and their families and should turn their attention to helping Texans access quality, affordable health care.”

Last Thursday, President Trump signed into law a repeal of the Obama administration’s rule that prevented states from blocking access to preventive care at a health center just because its organization also provides safe, legal abortion. The move will embolden states to try to block access to affordable family planning services through Title X, both at Planned Parenthood health centers and independent clinics.

Extreme politicians in Texas are more than willing to take away access to birth control and cancer screenings, as they have proven time and time again. The blatant attacks on reproductive health and rights here at home and on the national level are all part of the same extreme agenda: to ban abortion no matter the consequences to the health and wellbeing of everyday people.

In the face of these attacks, we continue to fight for the long haul. We felt the power of our movement in the sea of pink outside the Texas Capitol on Lobby Day. Let’s carry that feeling forward for the road ahead.

LAST WEEK

Bill Allowing Doctors to Lie to their Patients Without Consequence Moves Forward

On Wednesday, the House State Affairs Committee approved HB 434 by Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Denton), which allows doctors to lie to their patients without consequence and threatens a woman’s ability to make fully informed decisions about her pregnancy. HB 434 will eliminate the “wrongful birth” cause of action and take legal recourse away from a woman for whom vital information about her pregnancy was withheld. Now it’s up to the Texas House Calendars Committee whether this bill advances to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

In the Texas House, after a bill is approved by committee, it must overcome another major hurdle before becoming law or being sent to the Senate: The House Committee on Calendars, chaired by Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), must set a bill for consideration on the Daily House Calendar. The committee operates largely behind closed doors, though members of the public can attend official meetings in person. However, meetings are often sporadic and announced from the floor with little notice. Though not by official rule, members of this committee can “tag” bills in an attempt to delay or sometimes prevent them from coming to the floor. The House Calendars committee has the power to effectively kill the legislation — making it a very important committee, and one where you want to have allies.

Several anti-abortion bills are still pending in the House Committee on State Affairs, and could be brought up for a vote at any time, at which time they will be sent to the Calendars Committee. Pending legislation includes HB 35 by Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana), which requires the burial or cremation of fetal tissue, HB 200 by Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Garland) that bans the donation of fetal tissue for scientific research, and HB 2962 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Keller) that requires additional extensive reporting related to abortion complications by licensed abortion facilities.

THIS WEEK

Committee Considers Marlise’s Law

On Wednesday, House State Affairs will hear HB 439 by Rep. Nicole Collier (R-Ft. Worth). This bill, known as Marlise’s Law, would empower families of pregnant patients to make end-of-life care decisions for a family member who is terminally ill. At 14 weeks pregnant, Marlise Muñoz suffered a pulmonary embolism that left her brain dead. Over the objections of her family, Marlise’s previously declared wishes to be taken off life support in such a situation were not honored when the hospital determined she was pregnant. In Texas, the law requires that a pregnant woman continue to be given medical treatment, even if it cannot help her or her fetus. Marlise was kept on life support for 62 days while her family fought the hospital’s decision in court, all the while being forced to watch her condition deteriorate. Marlise’s Law seeks to make sure no other family has to go through this family’s experience.

House State Affairs will also hear HB 2899 by Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Denton), which would ban municipalities and school districts from enforcing ordinances, orders, or other measures that protect transgender Texans from discrimination when using restrooms or changing facilities that correspond with their gender identity. This bill is being promoted as an alternative to SB 6 by some lawmakers, but remains discriminatory and dangerous.

he House State Affairs Committee will hear two anti-abortion bills, and one proactive women’s health bill. HB 434 by Rep. Simmons, the companion bill to SB 25 by Sen. Creighton, would eliminate the wrongful birth cause of action which would allow physicians to lie or withhold vital information about a pregnancy from a patient. HB 1936 by Rep. Simmons is another attempt to block access to Planned Parenthood and ban abortion by prohibiting a governmental entity from entering into a sale, lease, or donation with an abortion provider or affiliate of abortion provider.

HB 747 By Rep. Farrar would allow victims of sexual assault who seek care at an emergency facility to access emergency contraception at that same location, rather than having to seek the medication from another provider. Survivors deserve complete and accurate information about the treatment and medical assistance they are entitled to receive.

ACTION: Attend the committee hearing in person or call committee members to register your position on these bills — OPPOSE HB 434 and HB 1936 and SUPPORT HB 747.

House Budget Debate on Thursday

On Thursday, the House will debate SB1 — the state’s biennial budget. Hundreds of amendments have been filed, including many abortion and women’s health related amendments — both good and bad. We expect to see a fight over funding for the “Alternatives to Abortion” program, which funnels millions of dollars to crisis pregnancy centers, known to mislead and deceive women against having an abortion. Several extremist legislators have filed amendments to the budget which would increase funding for this misguided, ineffective program.

Meanwhile, several women’s health champions have filed amendments that would strip funding from these unaudited crisis pregnancy centers and move it to programs where it is actually needed, and where the money could have a positive impact: for instance, to sexual assault victims and for assistance to human trafficking victims.

In addition, pro-choice state Rep. Diana Arévalo has filed an amendment to restore funding to Planned Parenthood by striking the so-called “affiliate ban” that prevents Planned Parenthood from providing care through the state’s Healthy Texas Women program.

Every Monday through Thursday through May 8, you can join a coalition of progressive organizations and drop by the Capitol to register on every bill that is a scheduled for a hearing on that day. In order to help inform positions on bills, numerous community partners are sharing their legislative agendas. Based on that information, daily bill lists of every bill scheduled for hearing will be emailed and available at the Capitol for advocates to reference. Please stop by Rep. Chris Turner’s office in E1.408 for daily packets or receive the packets via email by signing up at http://bit.ly/txlegeresistance.

Stop SB 2119 and Protect the Texas Top 10% Plan: For the last 20 years, the Texas Top 10% Plan (TTPP) has served as a powerful tool to open the doors to college for students from rural, urban and low-income neighborhoods – especially to flagship institutions whose doors were largely shut to most Texans. SB 2119 would reverse course on that progress, impacting all Texas public colleges and universities. The Texas Latino Education Coalition (TLEC) urges you to oppose SB 2119, scheduled for public hearing on Wednesday, April 5.

Last week, the U.S. House failed to vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act, including a provision to specifically block people with Medicaid coverage from accessing preventive health care at Planned Parenthood health centers. The House was forced to delay a vote on their reckless and extreme health care repeal bill because they couldn’t pass it as-is — but the fight isn’t over.

Yesterday, the Texas Senate approved a version of the state budget that includes a new provision intended to ban Planned Parenthood from participating in any and all taxpayer funded programs as well as any future programs.

Read below for the latest update and to take action to make sure that lawmakers know Texans stand with Planned Parenthood.

House State Affairs Committee to Hear Reproductive Health and Anti-LBGTQ Discrimination Bills

Today, the House State Affairs Committee will hear an anti-abortion bill, two bills that would increase access to contraception for minors, and one bill that would allow LGBTQ families to be discriminated against in the state’s child-welfare system.

HB 3859 by Rep. James Frank would give religious groups license to use their faith as a reason to refuse to place foster children with gay couples or with families with certain religious beliefs. It could also block access to birth control or abortion services for teens, even when these services are in their best interests.

HB 330 by Rep. Mary González would allow minors 15 and older who are already parents to consent to their own medical examination and treatment relating to accessing birth control, other than emergency contraception.

HB 1373 by Rep. Sarah Davis is similar to HB 330, but takes a somewhat broader approach — allowing any unmarried minor, with no restriction on age, who is already a parent to consent to medical examination and treatment related to contraception, including emergency contraception.

AUSTIN: Attend the committee hearing in person and register your position on each of these bills.

Yesterday, the Texas Senate approved their version of the biennial state budget for 2018 and 2019 that includes a provision by Sen. Kelly Hancock that is intended to ban Planned Parenthood from receiving any state funds and even from future programs that don’t yet exist. In addition, the budget continues $18 million in taxpayer funding to the “Alternatives to Abortion” program which funnels money to crisis pregnancy centers. These centers have no state oversight or accountability, do not provide health care, and are known to mislead and deceive women to coerce and pressure them about decisions regarding pregnancy. After the House approves its version of the budget in the coming weeks, members from both chambers will meet behind closed doors in a conference committee to negotiate a compromise.

Last week at the Texas Capitol, several dangerous and discriminatory bills advanced through the legislative process. But each step of the way, activists showed up and fought back by testifying in committees, protesting, and calling their senators and representatives. More than 600 people signed up to speak on the anti-immigrant Senate Bill 4 and, of those, only 11 registered in support.

We are just getting started. Planned Parenthood supporters are standing defiant against attacks on our communities, and we’re not backing down. We’re in this for the long run.

LAST WEEK

Senate Approved 2 Anti-Abortion Bills

On Wednesday, the Texas Senate voted to approve two anti-abortion bills — Senate Bill 8 and Senate Bill 415. SB 8 and 415 ban the safest medical procedure for some patients and stand in the way of doctors’ ability to provide the safest care for their patients, even going so far as to dictate medical procedures that aren’t aligned with medical training and practice. SB 8 and SB 415, which received a final vote today, now move to the Texas House.

On Wednesday, the Texas Senate passed SB 6, a bill by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst that would require transgender individuals to use bathrooms and locker rooms in schools and other government buildings that match the gender on their birth certificate. This bill only serves to shame and stigmatize the transgender community, and expose them to more harassment and harm. In her comments on the Senate floor, Sen. Kolkhorst attempted to justify her discriminatory bill as an effort to protect women–which could not be farther from the truth. This bill is also Trump extremist Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top legislative priority this session.

Senate Bill 4 by Charles Perry, an anti-sanctuary bill that would require Texas cities and counties to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers — meaning jails would have to hold undocumented immigrants at ICE’s request for the agency to potentially deport them, and withhold grant funding for noncompliance, had a public hearing in House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

The Senate could take action on three other anti-abortion bills this week. SB 258 by Sen. Huffines, which forces patients to complete an invasive and medically unnecessary form, serves only to shame Texans seeking abortion and to further stigmatize medicine. SB 20 by Sen. Larry Taylor would ban public and private insurance companies, including those under the Affordable Care Act, from providing coverage for abortion except by supplemental policy. We don’t know exactly when these measures will come up for debate, but stay tuned for updates on these bills. SB 25 by Sen. Creighton eliminates the wrongful birth cause of action, which would sanction the ability of doctors to intentionally withhold vital information about a pregnancy from a patient. SB 25 passed the Senate on second reading today.

Anti-Abortion Bill Scheduled For Hearing Wednesday in House State Affairs

On Wednesday, House State Affairs Committee will hear testimony on HB 200 by Rep. Burkett. This bill, the companion to Sen. Schwertner’s SB 8 in the Senate, would ban the donation of fetal tissue from an abortion, as well as includes a copy of a method ban already illegal at the federal level. The bill relies on the widely discredited and deceptively edited videos purporting to show Planned Parenthood profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. A Republican led Congressional committee convened for the express purpose of investigating this allegation found no evidence of wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, and separately, an AG investigation into a Planned Parenthood health center in Texas likewise returned no evidence of wrongdoing. Instead, extremist state officials turned the “investigation” into a highly politicized war against Planned Parenthood. Fetal tissue research has already led to a number of medical advancements, including the development of lifesaving vaccines for polio and rubella. Prohibiting the donation of or research using fetal tissue jeopardizes critical and life-saving medical research.

Renewal of State Budget Provisions to “Defund” Planned Parenthood

Both the Texas Senate and the House are expected to hold hearings this week to finalize their versions of the state budget. Preliminary budget documents show that both chambers have adopted measures targeting Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide health care. For example, both budgets continue previous riders barring Planned Parenthood from providing services through the Healthy Texas Women program and the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Services (BCCS) program. In addition, a new, broad rider by Sen. Kelly Hancock in the Senate budget seeks to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving any funding whatsoever.